[ILLusion]

Yes, C rating represents the maximum discharge load, and in basic theory, shouldn't affect rate of fire.

However, in real world practice, it DOES affect rate of fire, as larger C rating cells have lower internal resistance of the cell chemistry present in the pack. Less internal resistance results in less energy being wasted and turned in to heat, but it also means a greater "bandwidth" is present for current to flow - all this ultimately yields higher rate of fire. It's not due to higher voltage barfing the flow of power out, but because the higher C pack allows the motor to be able to pull more juice in one shot than a but smaller C pack.

The exact same thing occurs regarding the rated capacity of the pack as well!

The same holds true with Ni-Cad cells (and less exaggerated, in Ni-MH cells as well) - a 1200mAh sub-C pack will yield much higher ROF and trigger response time than a 1200mAh A pack. Again, this is due to lower internal resistances within the cell itself. And again, the same thing with the capacity of the pack: A 1200mAh sub-C pack will have a slower ROF than a 2400mAh sub-C - even if voltage of the pack is EXACTLY the same. At the extreme end of the scale, an 8.4v 600mAh mini is painfully slow and underpowered compared to an 8.4v 2400mAh sub-C pack.
These similarities are present with Li-Po as well.

Damage with high ROF is much less likely when doing semi-auto firing, but if you're unleashing full auto bursts the majority of the time, then you risk higher chances of damage. The damage occurs not on the FIRST spin, but on the follow up cycles.

For what it's worth, I personally have not seen any gear damage either, but have seen more than a few racks with the first tooth or two snapped right off.